Israel has changed the way it shares intelligence with the U.S., Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said Wednesday. The move comes after U.S. President Donald Trump divulged to Russia classified information reportedly obtained from Israel.
“We discussed the issue with our friends in America,” Liberman said in an interview with Army Radio. “We did our checks.â The defense chief didn’t specify what changes had been made, saying: “Not everything needs to be discussed in the media, some things need to be talked about in closed rooms.”
Liberman said officials “did a spot repair.” He added that “thereâs unprecedented intelligence cooperation with the United States.”
Earlier this month, the Washington Post reported Trump revealed highly classified information about the Islamic State to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during an Oval Office visit. Officials reportedly obtained the information through an intelligence-sharing arrangement with Israel.
Trump has denied he did anything improper, taking to Twitter to write:Â “As president I wanted to share with Russia (at an openly scheduled W.H. meeting) which I have the absolute right to do … facts pertaining to terrorism and airline flight safety. Humanitarian reasons, plus I want Russia to greatly step up their fight against ISIS & terrorism.”
During a trip to Israel earlier this week, Trump pushed back against claims he fingered Israel as the source of the intelligence. “I never mentioned the word or the name âIsrael,'” he said at a press conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “Never mentioned it during that conversation.â